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Oxygen Unveils "The Untold Stories of Motherhood" Docu-Short

Real, honest, and emotional, Oxygen's new docu-short "The Untold Stories of Motherhood" showcases today's new modern family, from open adoption to same-sex parenting. Watch the preview and get the full press release below.

OXYGEN MEDIA CAPTURES “THE UNTOLD STORIES OF MOTHERHOOD” IN AN EMOTIONAL DOCU-SHORT WITH AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR MARILYN AGRELO (“MAD HOT BALLROOM”) Docu-Short Showcases A New Age of Motherhood To Coincide With Season Two Of Network’s Critically Acclaimed Series “I’m Having Their Baby” Premiering Wednesday, June 12 at 10 PM ET/PT

NEW YORK – May 3, 2013 – Oxygen Media unveils an emotional docu-short titled “The Untold Stories of Motherhood,” which delves into the lives of various people and their individual stories of parenting to showcase the many faces of motherhood. In the network’s new poll study conducted by uSamp, 87 percent of Americans believe the definition of a traditional family has evolved and 55 percent say there is no such thing as a traditional family anymore. This docu-short, directed by award-winning director Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom), highlights the unique stories of today’s new modern family and their remarkable bonds of love, from open adoption to same-sex parenting. The full docu-short and additional video components are available on Oxygen.com, the show’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and is being promoted on national cable television with additional support on our NBC Universal sister networks. “The Untold Stories of Motherhood” coincides with the network’s critically acclaimed series “I’m Having Their Baby,” which explores the untold stories of adoption, premiering season two on Wednesday, June 12 at 10 PM ET/PT.

“This marks the first time Oxygen has commissioned a film piece to support a series launch and Marilyn Agrelo was the ideal director, with her profound awareness of social themes, to execute our vision,” said Jane Olson, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Brand Strategy, Oxygen Media. “We commissioned ’The Untold Stories of Motherhood’ to start the conversation with our viewers about the new and remarkable bonds of motherhood and engage them in a unique way leading up to the premiere of ‘I’m Having Their Baby.’”

“’The Untold Stories of Motherhood’ is very special to me because it was a rare chance to get into these people's lives in such an honest and emotional way. I was struck by the openness and courage of all of our participants. While I was working with these mothers I began to think about family and motherhood in a new way. I'm very proud of this film because I know that people will not only be moved by it, but also surprised at these very different faces of what motherhood represents,” commented Agrelo.

“I’m Having Their Baby” provides an intimate and emotional look at adoption by telling the too-often untold story through the eyes of the birth mother. The hour-long series documents a range of poignant, personal stories of women struggling with an unplanned pregnancy and ultimately deciding whether or not to place their baby in the hands of another family. This season delves deeper into the lives of birth mothers entering the adoption process, their family and friends affected by their decision and in some cases the potential adoptive couples.

Additionally on Sunday, May 12, Oxygen.com will premiere a web series featuring five of the birth mothers from season one of “I’m Having Their Baby.” The short-form videos will focus on the mother’s lives and how they are handling their decision of adoption and their current relationship with the adoptive families.

“Untold Stories of Motherhood” is produced by Cowboy Bear Ninja Productions with Rufus Lusk as executive producer.

“I’m Having Their Baby” is produced by Hud:sun Media with Michael Rourke and Bryn Freedman as executive producers.

About Oxygen Media

Oxygen Media is a multiplatform entertainment brand that delivers relevant and engaging content to young women who like to "live out loud." Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's media by changing how the world sees entertainment from a young woman's point of view. Through a vast array of unconventional and original content, including “The Glee Project,” “The Face,” "Best Ink," “I’m Having Their Baby” and "Bad Girls Club," the growing cable network is the premier destination to find unique and groundbreaking unscripted programming. “The Glee Project” is a winner of a 2012 Gracie Award which honors programming created for women, by women and about women for “Outstanding Reality Show.” A social media trendsetter, Oxygen is a leading force in engaging modern young women, wherever they are, with popular, award winning features online including www.OxygenLive.com, the real time social viewing party that is also available as an app for the iPhone and iPad. Oxygen is available in 80 million homes, and can be found online and on mobile devices at www.oxygen.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OxygenPR. Oxygen Media is a service of NBCUniversal.

About Marilyn Agrelo Marilyn

Agrelo came to the United States from Cuba with her parents and three siblings at the age of 3. Growing up in New York City in a family culturally different from her peers’ shaped her early awareness of the social themes she continues to explore through her work. Agrelo’s directorial debut Mad Hot Ballroom proved to be the perfect vehicle for this exploration. The critically acclaimed love poem to New York City enjoyed a theatrical run of over 24 weeks and took its place among the top 20 highest-grossing documentary films of all time. Mad Hot Ballroom is currently in pre-production for its Broadway debut in 2013.

Marilyn’s narrative feature film debut came in the form of An Invisible Sign, which was shot in the fall/winter of 2009 and was released by IFC Films. Based on the highly acclaimed novel An Invisible Sign of My Own, this is a fanciful tale of a young woman precariously on the edge who finds comfort in the orderly world of numbers. Agrelo has directed and produced commercials, dramatic shorts, documentary short films, and television series. Recent projects include directing three episodes of the Emmy-winning children’s series The Electric Company for Sesame Workshop, directing an around-the-world production for KUMON, resulting in a short film and commercial, and a short documentary film for Macy’s. She is currently at work on a documentary feature about young film-makers in Iraq, and has been shooting a history of Feminists in NYC.

About Cowboy Bear Ninja Productions

Cowboy Bear Ninja is a film and video production company, and a creative development resource. We emphasize informative films with a strong documentary pedigree and ongoing explainer projects in different formats. Our work can be seen on television and in theaters as well as distributed through streaming platforms in conjunction with a social campaign. Our clients include The Washington Post, Greenpeace, JWT, The Shorty Awards, UPS, and Macy’s - among many others. Our completed projects are online at our site cowboybearninja.com.

About This Research

Between April 23 and April 29, 2013, the Oxygen Media Insights Group commissioned USamp Research to survey a nationally representative sample of 1,023 U.S. adults. The survey included questions about consumers' attitudes toward adoption, traditional families, and parenting.

About uSamp

uSamp, the fastest growing company in the Market Research Industry, is a premier provider of technology and survey respondents used to obtain consumer and business insights. uSamp’s leading mobile technology and SaaS platform transform the way companies gain intelligence to make better, faster decisions about their products and services by tapping into uSamp’s 12 million member global panel of survey respondents. Through uSamp’s proprietary technologies for self-serve sampling and survey authoring, companies have on-demand access to millions of profiled survey respondents. uSamp is based in Los Angeles, with five offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The company has more than 200 team members worldwide. uSamp was No. 213 on the 2012 Inc. 500|5000 exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies and is recognized on the 2011 and 2012 Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Company list. Please visit www.usamp.com